Coming Home
by Nix1978
Summary: Doyle is dead and Emily is coming home. How have the team coped over the past few months and how will they react to her return?
1. Chapter 1

Hotch looked down at his phone and saw JJ's name. Last time he had spoken to her was six months ago at the funeral. They had agreed not speak again about what they had done unless it was absolutely necessary. Truth was, they hadn't spoken at all since then, not about anything. To see each other or to speak would remind them of the events of those few weeks and the immense burden they were both having to bear. To try and forget it was the only way to deal with it, although Hotch resentfully felt that would be far harder for him than JJ. He had to face his team every day and deal with what they were going through knowing he could go some way to ease their pain with just a few words. He couldn't tell them though…..that would be putting not only Emily in danger, but also each one of the team. He knew they wouldn't thank him for it if they ever found out, but just as Emily had done a few months ago, keeping this from them was the only option he had.

Tentatively he answered the call.

"JJ" His voice was formal and professional. No emotion. It actually made him uncomfortable to talk to her.

"Hi Hotch."

"Hi. What's up?" Hotch had no time for small talk with JJ. What they hell would they talk about? It wasn't that he was angry with JJ. Of course she had done everything she could to keep Emily alive, they both had. It just didn't feel right for them to speak of anything apart from Emily and to speak of her was just too hard.

"Hotch, Easter just called. Doyle's dead. Caught by the FSB in Russia."

"Right." Hotch paused, trying to digest what he'd just heard.

"Hotch? You still there?"

"Yes JJ. What about Prentiss? Did he say anything about her?"

"He just said she was safe and he would call me with more information as soon as he had it."

Silence again…

"Hotch, are you ok?"

"Yes, I just don't know what to say. What do I do now?" Hotch didn't mean to say that out loud. That wasn't like him at all. If he felt it, he never said it. He always tried to deal with things himself.

"Nothing yet Hotch. Let's find out more about Emily first, then we can decide from there."

'_We_?' Hotch thought. There had been no 'we' for the past six months. He had done this on his own. He didn't want to be angry with JJ, but he had felt slightly abandoned by her.

"Ok JJ, keep me informed."

Hotch sat at his desk for the next hour, feeling shell shocked. He was obviously immensely relieved that Doyle was dead and Emily was no longer in danger from the monster, but his worries centred around his team. How would he break this news to them? How would they feel towards him? He had once said to Rossi, when Morgan had been arrested, that there was no room on this team for secrets. The secret he had kept was huge and had meant his team suffered. He had watched each one of them break down in a different way and had fought to keep them together and focused on their work. It had been the most difficult few months of his life after dealing with what happened to Hayley. He hadn't slept properly since the events and had a constant head ache due to the pressure of knowing what was happening to his team. He too had felt himself breaking, but had no-one to lean on.

Rossi had been the one he had spoken most to over the months, mainly about how the rest of the team were coping. Rossi asked him several times how he himself was coping with it. Hotch said few words as he hated lying to his friend, but knew out of everyone, Rossi would understand the most. Rossi was of course dealing with his own grief. He had been close to Emily…. A mentor, a friend and pretty much a father figure. He knew that she had confided in Rossi about things the rest of the team knew nothing about and Rossi had always believed and trusted in Emily unquestionably.

Watching Garcia had probably been the hardest. She came in every day for the first couple of months and cried. She probably cried only once a week now at work that Hotch was aware of, but he guessed when she went home there were tears every day. Her usually bright and happy attitude was nowhere to be seen….. No flirting with Morgan or teasing Reid. No wacky hairstyles or bold clothes. She still couldn't walk into the bullpen because just seeing Emily's desk would make her breakdown. She had cursed herself for not finding Emily sooner and Hotch had tried to convince her that there was no way of her finding Emily. Emily had made sure of that.

Reid was the most concerning as he went into his shell. His words were few. He battled with the fact he had not managed to say goodbye to her. The boy had seen so many people he loved leave in one way or the other. Reid and Emily had shared a bond in many ways. Out of everyone on the team, she was probably the one who could talk to him the most on an intellectual level…. Of course no-one was as intelligent as Reid, but Emily wasn't far behind. She was wordly wise and she never boasted about that, but every now and then she'd say something that would amaze everyone. That was their Emily. Her and Reid of course also shared their love of everything that was 'nerd' and Hotch wandered if Reid had even managed to watch a Star Trek film since that day. He doubted it.

Both Reid and Garcia had asked to see Emily's body at the hospital so they could say their goodbyes. Hotch and JJ had to think on their feet to dodge that bullet and they told them she didn't look too good…..Morgan had look confused when they said that as of course he had seen her right before and knew that wasn't true, but he never questioned it. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to see her that way.

Hotch had watched Morgan struggle to cope with the loss of his partner and friend while at the same time trying to be strong for Garcia and Reid. Hotch suspected that Morgan saved his tears for when he was at home on his own. He had spoken to Hotch about going in to the building to get her that day…had they gone in too late, were they too loud, could they have done it differently? It killed Hotch to not tell him that he had actually saved her life. Morgan had walked around looking nothing but angry and lost since the day he believed she had pretty much died in his arms. Rossi had spoken to Hotch about his theories of Morgan's feelings towards Emily. Hotch knew the two of them were close and that there was probably more to their feelings than just friends, but he wasn't sure. Morgan was not the type to share that kind of information.

A knock at his door shook Hotch out of his thoughts. It was Rossi.

"Hotch, I've got some paperwork for you to sign up." He walked over and handed him a file.

Hotch didn't say anything, but just took the file and began to read. Rossi could see Hotch was deep in thought, which of course lately was a common occurrence, but today it was different.

"Something wrong Aaron?"

Hotch looked up at Rossi with a frowned expression.

He shook his head, "No, everything's fine."

"OK." Rossi said and turned to walk out of the office.

As he got to the door, Hotch continued, "Dave…. everything's not ok."

Hotch finally felt like he was able to share some of this burden. With Doyle dead, Emily and the team were no longer in danger.

Rossi shut the door, turned and sat on the chair opposite the unit chief.

"Go on." Rossi said.

"Doyle is dead."

Rossi too paused for thought on hearing the news…."Well that's good news right?" It was good news, but didn't change anything about Emily, or so he thought.

"Yes it is, but there's something else….something that I'm going to need to tell everyone and I could really do with your help."

Rossi looked confused, but of course he would always offer his support. "Whatever you need."

Hotch took a deep breath, "Dave, Prentiss is alive." Hotch looked at Rossi as he delivered the news trying to gauge his reaction.

Rossi looked down in thought for a few seconds and then looked back up at Hotch, "And you've known all along right?"

"Yes."

"And JJ?"

"Yes, how did you guess?"

"Just thinking about back at the hospital. The two of you were huddled a few times. I guess that makes sense now."

"You understand why we did it don't you?"

"I do and as soon as I've managed to digest this I know I will be incredibly happy she is alive, but I don't know how the others are going to react. They've gone through hell the last few months. We all have."

"That's why I need your help."

"And you have it, you know that… Have you had any contact with her?"

"No, the only people who know anything about what happened to her after that day at the hospital are JJ and Easter. I've not spoke to JJ since, until today. It had to be that way."

"I see, and is she coming back?"

Hotch could hear the hope in Rossi's voice.

"I have no idea. I'm waiting for more news from JJ."

"Right, well until we know that I suggest we don't say anything. They will have a million questions. You… we need to be able to answer as much as we can."  
Hotch was relieved to hear Rossi say 'we'. He knew he could rely on his friend.

The following day they had a new case. They were all in the briefing room, Garcia telling them about three missing women, one found dead, all three believed connected. Hotch's phone rang out and he looked at the screen to see JJ's name. He looked at Rossi as he got up.

"I need to take this…..carry on without me."

Rossi acknowledged Hotch's look, knowing this was the news they had both been waiting for.

After the briefing he went straight to Hotch's office where he was pacing around his room.

"So Aaron. What's the news?"

"Prentiss is in London at the moment. She wants to come back."

"Right…that's good. Any idea when?"

"She'll be back in a weeks time. We've got a week to tell the team and her family and help them come to terms with it. JJ's taking care of everything else."

"What's everything else?"

"Well, reversing her death certificate. Sorting out her coming back here. Everything like that. She'll have contact with her."

"Ok, well let's get this case over and done with, then we can tell them all."

The case took two days and both Rossi and Hotch were distracted by what they would have to do once it was over. The morning after the case had finished Hotch gathered the team in the briefing room. He and Rossi remained standing, Rossi standing by the unit chief's side to show his support. Reid, Morgan and Garcia sat next to each other waiting for Hotch to begin. Rossi quickly realised that Hotch didn't even know where to start, so he began for him.

"Guys, we have some news…." The three agents turned to look at Rossi in anticipation…."They got Doyle. He's dead."

There was silence. Rossi could see Garcia's face change…. She was starting to cry. That was not unusual or unexpected. She cried at the mention of anything to do with Emily.

Reid continued to stare at Rossi, silently asking for more information. He just couldn't find the words.

Morgan lowered his head towards the table. He was frantically rubbing the table with a finger. Trying to suppress the anger Rossi guessed.

The silence was uncomfortable. Hotch was waiting for questions, but they never came so he took over from Rossi… "He was in Russia, the FSB found him."

Morgan all of a sudden stood up, "Who cares! I'm glad he's dead and I hope he suffered, but what does it change….?" He hung his head and the anger fell away from his tone…"It should have been me…I should have killed him. If I'd of got there sooner…" He was practically whispering and his voice broke. Garcia took hold of his hand. She had heard that so many times from him. He had constantly beaten himself up for not getting to her a few seconds earlier.

Rossi and Hotch looked at each other and Rossi nodded at Hotch, willing him to continue.

"That's not all… There's something else I need to tell you."

Morgan sat back down and took Garcia, who still had tears streaming down her face, into his arms.

Hotch took a deep breath….."Please believe me that what I am about to tell you isn't easy and it was only ever done to protect you and…." He paused."….and Prentiss."

It took a few seconds, but one by one the agents in front of him moved their gaze to him, all looking lost.

"Emily…..?" Reid said almost choking…"to protect Emily. But she's…gone."

"No, she's not gone. Emily…she's alive." Hotch said softly, trying to break the news as gently as possible.

Garcia was first to react with a gasp. The look on her face was almost the same as when JJ had delivered the news that Emily was dead. It was too much to take in.

"Emily's alive? My Emily is alive? How can she be alive?" Garcia's voice was desperate.

Reid's expression had barley changed and Morgan was looking at Hotch in disbelief.

"She didn't die at the hospital. She was taken to a secure hospital to recover. I don't know what happened to her after that, but I know she is in London now and is going to come back here now that everyone is safe."

"So you knew all along that she was alive?" Morgan asked.

"Yes."

"And you too Rossi?" Morgan said. Neither Rossi nor Hotch could tell what Morgan was thinking. His words were monotone but his breaths were deep. His chest was rising and falling harder than usual.

Hotch spoke before Rossi could answer….."No, Rossi knew nothing until a couple of days ago. The only people to know were me, JJ and Easter."

"JJ?" Reid said…. "JJ knew and she never told me?"

Garcia was sobbing too hard to say anything and Rossi could feel the tension rising even more if that were possible…. "Guys, come on. This is good news. Our Emily is alive and I know we have all suffered greatly these last few months, but the main thing is she is alive. She'll be back in a few days."

"She's coming here?" Reid mumbled.

Rossi walked over and put a hand on Reid's shoulder….. "Yes. She's coming home buddy."

Reid hung his head and the tears started to flow. That was the first time any of them had seen him cry since that day at the hospital. Garcia turned to Reid and enveloped him in a hug.

An unusually quiet Morgan sat and watched his two friends, a million emotions running through his mind. He didn't know the right questions to ask and felt like his world was imploding so he stood up and held his hand out to Garcia, "Hey you. She's alive….." He said with a small smile. "…..Come on let's get you out of here and freshen up. All that make up is running down your pretty face."

She took his hand and turned to Reid, "You coming Spence?" Reid said nothing, but stood up and followed as Morgan led Garcia out of the room, Morgan shooting Hotch a glance as he walked past.

Hotch turned to Rossi, "What do you think?"

"I think they've just found out a person they love very much and have grieved for for the past 6 months is still alive. It's a lot to take in. Let's give them a bit more time and we can speak to them again."

**To be continued very soon…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Coming Home Ch 2**

It had been half an hour since Hotch and Rossi had delivered the news about Emily. The three agents hadn't appeared to ask anything of them.

"I'll go find them." Rossi said, unnerved at the silence.

"You want me to come with you?" Hotch asked, knowing what the answer would be. If there was any anger today, it would levelled at him.

"No, it's ok Aaron. I just want to make sure they're ok."

Rossi gently knocked on Garcia's office door and entered….. "You guys ok?"

Garcia looked up and nodded. He face was devoid of any make up, all washed away by the tears not doubt. Her eyes were puffy and her skin pale. She attempted a smile, but it wouldn't come…."Is she really coming home?" She asked, her voice quivering.

"Yes Penelope…..Look guys, I know you must be feeling all sorts of things right now and I have no doubt one of those things is anger because we were lied to and we will deal with that, but we need to prepare ourselves for her coming back. She'll be back in a couple of days. This is going to be difficult for us all."

"No, no….." Garcia started, "….I can't wait for her to be back, I just can't believe it… I can't allow myself to until I know for sure. I feel like I'm going to wake up and this will all be a dream and for a split second I'll believe she's alive and then I'll remember she isn't. I've had those dreams over and over again and I can't feel like that again. I can't feel like I've had her ripped away from me again." Her voice and her tears came again.

Rossi looked to Reid who was just staring at the floor. The boy's reaction was worrying. Emily's loss had definitely affected him the most and this news hadn't gone anyway to appear to help.

"Morgan...?" The Agent looked up at Rossi with a pained expression in his eyes. Rossi signalled to him to leave the room with a nod of his head. Morgan looked to Garcia and gently placed a reassuring hand on her back. He got up and left the room following Rossi into a side interview room.

"How you holding up Morgan?"

Morgan looked him straight in the eyes. He was clearly holding back his tears and there was a mass of emotion swirling around.

"I…..I don't know how to feel Rossi." It was almost as though he was begging Rossi to tell him how to feel.

"You're not pleased she's alive?"

Morgan's expression changed immediately to anger.

"How can you say that man? How could you think I wouldn't want her alive?"

"I'm sorry Derek, of course….. Tell me. Tell me what you're feeling."

"Why didn't they trust us? Why didn't they tell us she was alive?"

"You know why…..you know that was for everyone's protection. You saw what Doyle was capable of."

"I know, but….JJ and Hotch, how could they watch Garcia and Reid go through this?"

"You remember what you saw when Emily was being worked on by the paramedics? What you told me and Hotch?"

Morgan nodded, a solitary tear running down his face that he quickly wiped away. He thought back to that day. That day he had tried to forget about but the one that kept coming back to him in his nightmares. Nightmares that kept him awake every night. The brand on her chest… an image he could never forget.

"You said we shouldn't tell JJ, Seaver, Garcia and Reid. You did that to protect them."

"That's not the same Rossi and you know it. Not telling them that stopped them from feeling worse about what happened….. Knowing that Doyle had tortured her. They didn't need to know that. But not telling them she was alive? I've watched two of my best friends break over the last few months. Garcia beats herself up every day for not finding Emily sooner. She cries every single day thinking about Emily going through that hell all alone in the last few weeks of her life….. and Reid? I can barely get him to talk to me unless we're working a case. He walks around like a zombie because he feels empty. How do you just undo the damage that this has done to someone's soul in just a few minutes? I just wish… I just wish they'd of trusted us."

"And what about you? What have you gone through?"

Morgan shook his head, "I don't care about me man, I just want to get them two through this."

Rossi wanted to push him a bit more, but knew Morgan would resist. He had resisted since the day Emily left them in the bull pen.

"Well, you have to help us prepare them for seeing her. That will help them."

Morgan nodded his head and then looked down to the floor.

"What you thinking?" Rossi asked, seeing he was deep in thought.

"What about Emily? Is she ok? That wound was bad. Has she been alone all this time?"

"I don't know…Hotch doesn't know anything about what's gone on with her since that day at the hospital. I guess we'll find out in a couple of days."

Knowing how fragile his team were, Hotch managed to dodge any cases for the next few days, passing them on to other teams. He didn't give them the time off though. He felt they needed to be in work. It was some sort of distraction, but he also felt it was important that they were together.

Garcia proceeded to ask a whole host of questions that Hotch just couldn't answer over the few days. She appeared to be the one getting through this the best. Her mood had picked up and although the laughter and the quirkiness hadn't resurfaced, she at least had some colour back in her cheeks. Each day she seemed a little more excited to see Emily, but there was still an air of hesitancy, almost as if she believed something else was bound to go wrong.

Reid was slightly more talkative, although it was to only ask questions about Emily's medical state. He was confused at how she was at death's door one minute and was then whisked away under cover the next. Hotch couldn't answer that but knew someone who could…JJ. But he wanted to shield JJ from this, even after dealing with the last six months himself, he still tried to protect her. He knew she would have enough on her plate bringing back Emily.

If Garcia or Reid were angry with Hotch and JJ they didn't show it…..Hotch figured the anger would come later. Right now he was sure all they could think about was seeing Emily. Morgan was a different story though. He had avoided Hotch for the past few days, speaking to him only about cases. Hotch felt enough was enough and called him to his office.

"Take a seat." The Unit Chief said as Morgan walked in.

Morgan did as he was told but said nothing.

"Morgan, I understand that you are angry with me and JJ right now, but you have to understand we did this for all the right reasons. We had no choice."

Hotch prepared himself for a tongue lashing from the agent, but it didn't come.

"I know." Is all Morgan said.

Hotch looked confused, but continued.

"It was the deal Easter gave us. It was the only way I could get information from him…. The information that eventually led us to her and that led to you saving her life."

Morgan looked up at the chief. "I know. I get that….. Will that be all Hotch?"

Hotch thought he preferred the angry, ranting Morgan. At least he knew that way what he was thinking.

"No. It won't be all. I once told you that I would trust you with my life and that you couldn't afford me the same trust…. You remember?"

Morgan nodded.

"That is still true. I would still trust you with my life. This wasn't about trust. We will all have to find a way to get through this as a team and you are an integral part of that. If you give up on it, it will fall apart. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I just….." Morgan was unusually solemn. "…. It'll be fine Hotch."

Morgan got up and walked to the door. As he reached for the handle Hotch stopped him, "Morgan. I'll ask you one thing. If you were in my position, would you have done anything differently? To save Emily's life and to protect the rest of the team?"

Hotch didn't know if he was asking to make a point to Morgan or for validation for his decisions.

Morgan shook his head, "No Hotch, probably not."

The day finally came when Emily would be coming back to Quantico to see her friends again. She sat outside in the car with JJ.

"You ready?" JJ asked softly, looking at her friend sat next to her. A friend she last saw in Paris not knowing whether she would ever see her again. She had wanted to hug her back then and never let her go, but she couldn't. Instead, she had to sit and watch her walk away. Walk away all alone in the world. It broke her heart.

"No JJ. I'm not ready. I don't know what to say to them. I've hurt them so much. May be I shouldn't of come back." He voice was shaky and she was panicking.

JJ placed her hand on Emily's.

"Em, they will all want to see you more than anything. There may be some anger or hurt along the way, but we'll get through that. For now, let's just get this bit over and done with. One step at a time."

They walked together through the corridors towards the briefing room. Emily felt like hundreds of eyes were on her as they made their way through, but she just looked forward. A few people may have even said hello, but she didn't acknowledge it. She was so focused on her team. If she let that focus slip, she thought she would turn around and run away…..run away again.

Hotch, Rossi, Morgan and Reid were all sat at the round table. Legs were tapping on the floor, fingers were knocking on the table. Garcia was pacing the room. To say that everyone was nervous was an understatement.

They all turned as they heard the door opening. JJ walked in first, tentatively. She knew that her friends wouldn't be too happy with her right now. Emily, shuffled in behind. They all stared…..it was their Emily, but she looked different. She looked so small and so fragile. She was pale and thin and had an unbelievable sadness in her eyes. Her sadness was for them not for herself though. She hoped she could tell them….. that she could convince them of that.

Garcia ran to her and threw her arms around her. Emily winced in pain as she did, the wound in her chest still healing, but she tried not to show it. The feel of Penelope Garcia enveloping her in a hug was something she'd dreamed of for months.

"Emily, I can't believe you're here. Is it really you?" Garcia said, barley being able to get the words out through her sobs.

"It is Pen. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Emily said, breaking down herself. The warmth of Garcia made her feel safe and when she was safe, she allowed herself to cry. There was nothing that could hurt her in that hug.

"Emily Prentiss, don't you ever, ever leave me again. Do you hear me? I will be your shadow forever. You will never escape me again."

"I won't I promise."

Emily looked up remembering the rest of her team were in that room. As she looked up she saw Reid standing next to them. He looked like a lost child waiting for his mommy to come find him.

As hard as it was, she broke out of the hug with Garcia and moved in front of Reid. She held her arms out to him and he walked into her embrace.

"Hey Spence. You ok? I missed you."

"I missed you too….Why did you leave me?" She heard his voice breaking, at the same time she thought she could hear her own heart breaking.

"I didn't leave _you_ Spence. I was just taken away from this for a while. I had to be. I'm sorry."

The word 'sorry' just didn't seem enough, but it was all she had.

Next in line was Hotch. He looked tired and stressed. Even more stressed than normal if that was possible. She knew that she, Hotch and JJ would have to deal with their lies to the rest of the team together over the coming weeks and months.

"Hotch, I know what you have had to do over the last few months, and I can never make that up to you. Please know that I am so so thankful. I know it will have been awful for you." She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The next face she saw was Rossi. She felt a sigh of relief when she saw a huge, warm smile on his face. This man had done so much for her over the years and she could always rely on him. Now was no different. She smiled back at him. The first time she hadn't had to force a smile in a long time.

"Emily, you have no idea how good it is to see you. Come here." And she got another hug that made her feel home and safe again.

As she was in the hug with Rossi she opened her eyes to see Morgan stood in front of her. His eyes were looking at the floor and he was fidgeting on his feet.

She walked to stand in front of him….. "Hey, Derek….? You saved my life you know? I thought I was going to die….. I wanted to…" She stopped mid sentence as remembering was too difficult. He continued to look at the floor. She moved her hand up to his face and cupped his cheek in her hand causing him to look at her. At that moment she saw the hurt swirling in his eyes. She knew he didn't know what to do and that doing this in front of everyone would be too hard for him.

"…..Everything you said… that kept me alive. Kept me fighting."

She moved into him for a hug. It felt awkward, but she just heard him whisper, "I meant it all."

"Right then….." Rossi began, breaking the tension, knowing that no-one would probably know what to do now. "…I don't know if this is appropriate, but I have bought a bottle of something in to celebrate."

"Dave, you know we can't drink on duty." Hotch shot his friend a glance.

"Well, in that case, we all just knocked off for the day… Emily, here, you have the first one."

He handed her a glass of wine. She looked down at the bottle and saw that it was her favourite.

After handing everyone a glass, Rossi held his in the air. "Guys. Let me just say a few things….. The last few months have been what can only be described as a living nightmare for everyone in this room, but I think that goes to show how much of a bond we all have and what each and everyone means to each other. It will be that bond that gets us through the coming weeks. Please don't lose sight of that. For now, I want to welcome Emily back home where she belongs. Let's just enjoy this moment."

Everyone raised their glasses and took a sip….. after a few minutes of awkwardness there was some chatter amongst various people in the room.

Garcia wouldn't let go of Emily's hand and was bombarding her with questions. As she did, Emily noticed Morgan wasn't talking to anyone….. he put his glass down and slipped out of the room quietly, she thought, hoping no-one would notice.

"So, where are you staying tonight Em?" Garcia asked

"JJ's sorted me a place."

"What on your own?" Garcia looked horrified.

Emily shrugged, "I guess."

"No way missy. You're staying with me….. Spence, you coming…..? Come on… we'll have a sleep over." Garcia was grinning. It was the first time she had felt anywhere near herself since Emily left. Right now she felt on top of the world and nothing was bringing her down.

"Ok." Reid replied and he too had a smile on his face. Not quite as big as Garcia's, but at least it was a smile.

Emily looked around the room and her friends. She did feel at home, more than she could have ever hoped for. There were a few knowing glances exchanged between herself, JJ and Hotch, conscious that they were going to have some difficult questions to answer, but here in this room, with these people around her, she knew they'd get through it. She would speak to Morgan on his own. She knew they had their own stuff to sort out. Right now she was just happy to take in the sight of her friends all together…her family.

**Ok, I've completed this story, but I will be doing a sequel so that Emily and Derek can sort their stuff out and may be some of the others. Thanks for reading and thanks for the comments.**


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